berceaunette: According to Cassell's Household Guide (1869), a wickerwork cradle, with a movable head of several rows of skeleton cane (ed.: it forms a folding awning).
calico: plain or printed woven cotton, originally a major export from Kozhikode (known by the English as Calicut), India. The muslin of today is probably a good match for what's intended, but watch out for the relative fabric weight-- it wasn't as standard back then as it is now. Go with your instincts. Since it used to be associated brightly printed designs (hence the origin of terms like "calico cat"), don't be afraid to try printed quilt cotton for pretty effects.
carriage rug: a small blanket used in horse-drawn carriages to keep passengers warm, also called a travelling rug.
counterpane: a catchall term for a bedspread. To women of this time period, a counterpane could be quilted or knitted-- its defining characteristic is that individual pieces of the work could be worked separately and joined together later. In this book, counterpanes may be knitted or crocheted, and cotton was the fiber of choice, being inexpensive enough to use in large quantities.
couvrette: a small mat, pad, or cover of any textile construction. There are embroidered, tatted, guipure d'art, and crocheted couvrette patterns in the Beeton book.
d'oyley: an alternate spelling of "doily", a lace item created to be set under items on a table. It appears it can trace its name back to two sources, the most commonly cited being an 18th century draper who sold fine wool suited to the task of making this item. This amusing blog post from the Dreamstress has more on the name.
muffatees: wristwarmers, worn by men and women.
No comments:
Post a Comment